


Private Lessons

by Ilovethings_somuch



Category: Chris Evans - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-10-27 13:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10809987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilovethings_somuch/pseuds/Ilovethings_somuch
Summary: Elaina is teaching swimming lessons to a little boy named Lukas when she discovers that he is the son of Chris Evans. When Chris approaches Elaina to do private lessons with Lukas at the Evans’ home will things heat up? Will Elaina turn into a home wrecker that she never wanted to be?





	1. Chapter 1

Moving to California was a big move for me. With high hopes of getting into the Hollywood scene I set off from the east coast so I could be surrounded by the right kind of people. After a year of jumping to from studio to studio for small roles as an extra my confidence of ‘making it’ dwindled. I decided to take a couple months off to refocus. Of course, when living in LA and paying rent, not working isn’t an option. I decided to go back to my roots and get a job as a lifeguard at the local lap pool. This eventually lead to teaching swimming lessons, and teaching kids of some of the hottest actors in Hollywood.

“Okay, Liam, Lukas, and Eva. Are you guys ready?” I call my kids from their spots on the bleachers to join me by the poolside.

This session the only kid who belongs to an actor was Lukas, Lukas Evans. Son of none other than, Chris Evans. Now, I’m generally over the whole ‘star struck’ situation, but that doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying the view, and Chris Evans is a total DILF. Anyways, back to the kids,

There’s only 3 classes left before the session is over, and that means that today is going underwater day. Most of the kids in my classes are 3 or 4 so we only work on the basics, like how to float, go underwater, and generally just be comfortable in the pool. I try to work the kids up to going underwater, every week we blow bubbles and sometimes I’ll ask if they can get their nose wet, then if they can do that I ask if they can put their eyes in too. The answer is almost always a very strong “No!”

The first half of the class goes how it normally does. Simply working on floats and kicking, occasionally throwing in ‘ice cream scoop arms’. I spend time with each kid, trying to get them to completely relax into their back float. When there’s about 10 minutes left in class I line the kids up on the wall and give them the rundown and doing a bob

“Okay guys, we’re going to do something new today. Does anyone know what a bob is?”

“Noooo” they all shout in unison

“A bob, is when we go underwater and then jump right back up! How does that sound?” I make my voice as enthusiastic as possible to try and get them excited, but they all have varying levels of worry written on their faces. “How about I show you, but first we have to talk about what kind of face we make when we go underwater. We want to make a ‘fishy face’ so we close our eyes super tight and then puff our cheeks out like this” I point to my cheeks while making the face before having each kid show how they do it. Liam gets it right way, Eva got the puffy cheeks part down but forgot to close her eyes, and Lukas is too worried about going under to show me anything.

“Okay, good job guys. Now I’m going to show you how I go underwater and then it will be your turn. Can you count to three for me?” They count off in unison while I quickly go underwater. I come up with a smile on my face in an attempt to relax the kids, if they see I’m having fun then they should have fun too. When I come back up they all clap excitedly, but Lukas still looks unsure. I take Liam first, holding him in the water and having him show me his fishy face.

“Good job, are you ready to go under? I’m going to count to three and you make your fishy face” When I get to three I imitate the face with him, making sure he takes a big breath on 3 before quickly dunking him. Right after I bring him back above the surface I sit him on the wall and give him a high-five for being so brave. With no tears, I count that as a win. I repeat the process with Eva next. She was very excited to begin with but when I sat her on the wall she started to tear up a little bit. I was able to avoid a complete meltdown by teaching her how to wipe the water out of her eyes so that it didn’t hurt.

Then it was Lukas’ turn. Seeing Eva cry a little bit did not seem to help with his nerves. He willingly came in the water with me but when I ask him to show me his fishy face and just shakes his head.

“Why not?”

“Miss Lainie, I don’t wanna get my eyes wet” he whines

“Well that’s why we make a fishy face, silly. We close our eyes super tight so no water gets in” He doesn’t respond, just gives me a little pout face. “Hm, how about I go under with you, would that make it better?” He contemplates my offer for a few moments before agree. “Good, but you gotta show me your fishy face first okay?” I puff up my cheeks to remind him and he’s quick to imitate me, crinkling his eyes so they’re closed tight. “Good job! Okay relax now, I’m going to count to three and then we’re both going to take a big breath and go under okay?” worry crosses his face again but he nods bravely. “One, two, three okay take a big breath” I quickly go under water with him before popping back up to set him on the side. He sits there for a few moments, keeping his eyes closed tight. I use my thumbs to wipe the water out of his eyes before coaxing him to open them. As soon as he peeks them open I give him a big smile and a high-five, along with a little cheer about how brave he was.

To finish off the class we did their favorite activity, jumping off the wall. They all seemed a little unsure at first but when I assured them that they weren’t going under again they all resumed their normal excitement levels. Once everyone had a turn we all got out and I wrapped their towels around each of them before walking them back to their waiting parents.

Liam’s mom comes up first to usher him to the locker room, telling him how good of a job he did and giving me a small smile. Eva’s big brother meets her halfway to the bleachers and leads her to their mom, leaving me to walk Lukas over to Chris.

“Hey good job today buddy! Did you go under water?”

Lukas seems to have gotten his pep back and begins bouncing excitedly at his father’s praise.

“He did really well” I tell Chris, who smiles widely at me before saying thank you as I make my exit towards the pool office. I hang out for a while in the office, talking to my coworkers and boss about how lessons went before grabbing my belongings and heading out. As I’m crossing the parking lot I hear someone calling my name. I turn around I see Chris jogging towards me with Lukas in his arms.

“Hey, Elaina I’m glad I caught you. I was going to tell you earlier but, anyways” he pauses, seemingly flustered “I was going to thank you, for getting Lukas to go underwater. This is his third time being in this level and he always fails because he refuses to go under. So yeah, I guess just thanks for getting him more comfortable”

“Yeah, of course. I’m glad that he’s improving”

“Me too, so actually I was wondering, do you do private lessons? I really want him to keep working but my schedule doesn’t allow me to bring him when the classes are next session. Also I think he would do best if he kept you as his teacher”

“Yeah, I can do private lessons. I’ll just have to talk to my boss about when I can use the pool and let you guys know”

“Oh, actually, we have a pool at our house. So if you’re willing, I think you coming there would work best”

“Oh, um yeah I can do that. I guess we’ll just have to put our schedules together and figure out what times will work and such?”

“Yeah, how many lessons are left in this session?”

“Two, so just next Tuesday and Thursday”

“Right, okay. I think getting him started right away would be best, do you agree?”

“Yeah for sure. So we should plan a time sometime within the next week” I suggest.

“Yeah, here” he digs his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it before handing it to me. “Put your number in and I can text you and we can plan a time to meet up and talk about schedules”

I’m taken aback a bit by this A-list celebrity handing me, someone he doesn’t really know, his unlocked phone, but I try to remain calm as I put my number into Chris Evans’ phone! *internal scream*

“There you go” I try to sound casual as I hand his phone back but grimace at the way my voice sounds, very audibly shakey.

“Thanks! I’ll be in touch, and we’ll see you next week” he says with a shining smile.

“Sound good” I say, returning the smile and giving a little wave to Lukas.

I get in my car quickly, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to steady myself. Did that really just happen? I just had a real conversation with Chris Evans. Wait a minute, was my voice seriously shaking? Oh my god get it together Elaina! He’s just a guy, and a married guy who has a child! I shake my head to clear it of the embarrassing moment that will probably be engraved in my mind forever, before starting my car and heading home.

I make my dinner and am halfway through my next episode of Grey’s Anatomy when my phone chimes.

Unknown Number: Hey Elaina this is Chris. I was looking at my schedule and I’m available anytime next Wednesday or Friday if you’re available to meet with me. We could do coffee?

Me: I’m free on Friday, do you have a preferred time and place?

I quickly add his number to my contacts while waiting for a reply. Opting to leave his last name out, just in case something were to happen to my phone.

Chris: I know this little shop that is usually good for keeping a low profile, I’ll send you the address. Say, 9:30am?

Me: Sounds good to me, see you then!

“See you then? See you then?! You’re going to see him on Tuesday you dumb shit” I throw my phone across the couch with a groan of frustration. I don’t expect a response so when my phone chimes again I jump while looking at it wearily. I eventually reach across to grab it and see who texted me.

Chris: Can’t wait :) 

My eyes grow wide, did he.. Did he really say that? Wait, no, Elaina calm down. He’s just a nice person, he didn’t mean anything by it. Even if he did, he’s married (and famous), you can’t get in the middle of that.

“Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?”


	2. Chapter 2

I spent (too much) of my weekend arguing with myself about how to back out of my arrangement with Chris. It went something like this:

It wouldn’t be that hard to back out. I could just tell him that my boss didn’t want me teaching private lessons outside of our facility. But that’s not true, and lord knows I can’t lie to save my soul. There’s no real reason I can come up with for why I can’t teach Lukas privately. I mean, other than the whole, Chris FUCKING Evans thing. But it’ll be fine. You can be cool, Elaina, just remember deep breaths, he’s just a normal person. You’re doing this for Lukas, not Chris. Hell for all I know Chris won’t even be there when I’m teaching, Lukas probably has a nanny. Or, oh god, what if Chris’ wife is there. Does anyone even know who she is? *googles for 3 hours* Why the fuck is google not helping? Okay, tumblr time, the fandom HAS to know right? *searches tumblr for 5 hours (I may have gotten sidetracked)* WHY DOES NOBODY KNOW WHO SHE IS?! Wait. Maybe she’s not in the picture, oh god, I hope she’s still alive. 

All in all, the weekend went by too quickly and before I knew it, it was Tuesday and time for swimming lessons. Class went smoothly, I got everyone to go underwater again and there were 0 tears. Eva and Liam were a piece of cake, and when Lukas got scared all I had to do was remind him how proud his dad was going to be when he went under again. Worked like a charm; plus, waving at Chris with Lukas may have given me an excuse to look at Chris during the lesson. 

Afterwards, Eva’s mom wanted to talk to me so I avoided an awkward moment with Chris then, and I was somehow able to get my belongings and leave before he had gotten Lukas changed so I avoided him again. I have mixed feelings about whether or not I’m happy about that. I mean, it was the goal; but maybe a small part of me wanted him to talk to me.

Thursday is the last day of the session, which means it’s a fun day. For the older kids that means playing Sharks and Minnows and going off the diving board. For the little kids, it means spending the class playing with water toys and jumping off the side. Near the end I take my kids over to the deep end to try jumping off the diving board. They all get a life jacket and I swim near the end of the board to catch them when they jump in. I tell them they all have to jump once, and if they want to they can go twice. Liam is very excited, he even tells me not to catch him. Eva wants me to catch her, but other than that she doesn’t hesitate. Lukas, on the other hand, needs a little help. He is completely against jumping, I even try to coax him by giving him a noodle for “extra help floating” but he doesn’t budge.

“Lukas, you gotta try once. If you don’t like it then you never have to go again, but I want you to try one time”

“I don’t wanna” he whines once again, his eyes brimming with tears. I got him to walk to the end of the board and talked to him from the water. I give Kenna, the lifeguard on duty, a signal that he’s going to need help.

“How about if the lifeguard helps you bud” at this point Kenna is already on the board behind Lukas and is about to pick him up to set him into my waiting arms. The tears overflow as she sets him in the water, but as soon as he realizes that he’s in my arms they stop. “Good job Lukas! Look at that, you didn’t even go underwater! I bet your daddy is going to be really impressed”

“I did it! I went off the jumping board!”

“You did! You did so good” I assure him while swimming to the side with him. “Do you think you want to try again all by yourself?” His face drops with my suggestion so I back track quickly. “You don’t have to bud, only if you want. Or you can stay here by the wall okay?”

“I wanna stay here”

“Okay, just keep your hands on the wall while I help Liam and Eva”

Liam and Eva both jump again before class is over. When they get their towels on I give each of them their report card and a piece of candy before walking them over to their parents. I’m not exactly sure how, but somehow I was left alone with Lukas and Chris again.

“Good job today buddy!”

“Did you see me go on the jumping board?” 

“Of course I did! You were so brave”

“That’s what Miss Lainie told me too” Lukas tells him with a proud smile.

“Well Miss Lainie is a very smart lady” Chris says, looking at me with a smirk. I can’t help but blush at hearing him use my nickname.

“Well it’s always good to know who the bravest little boys are” I tease back, tickling Lukas’ sides.

“So, uh, tomorrow at 9:30 right?”

“Yeah, you still have to send me the address” I remind him.

“Oh shit, thanks for reminding me!” He immediately pulls out his phone and starts typing.

“Daddy!” Lukas whines while hitting Chris’ shoulder. “No bad words”

“I’m sorry buddy, you’re right. No bad words” he repeats before looking at me with a smirk. Goddamn that smile is going to be the death of me. It’s quiet for a few moments and I’m about to make my exit when Chris finishes typing and looks back up at me. “I just sent it to you”

“Okay, thanks. I’ll, um, see you tomorrow then”

“See you then” I give him a small wave before retreating into the office to grab my stuff. All my coworkers are already in there and someone is taking a shower in the room where my keys are, so it looks like I’ll be stuck here for a little longer. I spend the time looking through my phone, making sure to save the address Chris sent me, and talking to my coworkers. Thankfully no one asked me about what took me so long.

When I get home it’s already 7 and my plan to go for a run goes out the window. Instead take a shower before I pull out my laptop and fool around on the internet while eating my dinner. I end up facetiming with my best friend from back home before going to bed, simply so that I can express my excitement about befriending (yeah, that’s what we’re going to call it) Chris with someone who hasn’t actually met him. She’s equally if not more excited than I am, which makes me feel slightly more at ease in the sense that at least I’m normal, but also more anxious because I don’t want to mess it up. 

My body finally allows me to fall asleep sometime around midnight, leaving me around 7 hours of sleep. My alarm going off is a cruel awakening, but at least it’s sunny outside. I finally roll out of bed around 7:45, only to discover that my hair is an absolute mess and going to take awhile to tame. I want to make a good impression on Chris. Even though we’ve already met, he’s never really seen me..dry. I want to prove that I can clean up nicely, even if I’m not exactly sure why I feel the need to prove that. Dammit, Elaina it’s not a date!

I end up having to straighten my hair to get all the kinks out, which takes close to half an hour. A half an hour that I didn’t plan for. Thankfully I had a mental idea of what to wear and it didn’t end up looking awful when I put it on. Makeup was another issue. Listen, when you’re working in a wet environment, makeup isn’t something that happens often. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking, “do you ever go out Elaina?” the answer to that is, not as much as I should. And I used to, but when I decided to take a break from trying to act the people I had befriended when I first moved here kind of ditched me. It was probably for the best, that lifestyle wasn’t really me.   
I finally get my makeup to not look like a 5-year old did it and make it out of my apartment around 9:10. Which is 10 minutes later than I planned on leaving. The coffee shop is supposedly only 15 minutes away, but you never know when it comes to California traffic. Today proves to be no different, thankfully I make it to the shop only 2 minutes late; and let me tell you, my heart is pounding. I can’t tell you the last time I went on a date. Wait, fuck, Elaina it’s not a damn date! Either way, I can’t tell you the last time I met with someone at a coffee shop. Do I find him and sit down first? Do I order? Who knows! But I thank the lucky stars above when I see Chris walking towards the shop coming from the opposite direction as me. He seems to spot me at the same time I see him and give me a big grin. He can wear whatever glasses and hat he wants, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize that smile. We reach the door at about the same time and he holds it open for me to enter first. I stand just inside, waiting for him to make a move towards a table or to a line. He heads towards the line and I follow slightly behind.

“Hi, the regular?” the barista asks him when it’s his turn.

“Yeah and whatever she’s having” he sounds so casual about it that I think my heart stops.

“No, Chris you don’t have to pay for me”

“It’s just a coffee, relax” he chuckles.

“Um okay, I’ll just have whatever he’s getting” The barista gives me a small nod before moving to make the drinks. I follow Chris to a table while we wait for our drinks.

“So, where’s Lukas?” I ask, not that I expected him to be here, but it’s weird being around Chris without Lukas.

“He’s at home, with the nanny for a couple hours while I take care of a few things” I nod, thankful for our drinks arriving to give me something to do. Babysitter means his wife must be busy, or not around? God Elaina you’re insufferable, give it a rest. 

“He gets really upset when I have to leave, it’s going to be hard when school starts and I have to leave him everyday”

“Yeah, I bet. How does that work with you filming and such?”

“Um, I don’t know yet” he chuckles. “I’m still trying to figure it out. I really want him to go to a normal school. I mean, maybe a private school but definity one where he just goes 8 to 3 like a normal kid and gets to hang out with friends. As much as I would love to just have him home schooled so that he can go with me everywhere, I can’t take away his childhood like that”

“I get what you mean. It would be a pretty incredible childhood to grow up on movie sets though” I suggest with a smile. “But I get it, you want him to be a normal kid, that makes sense”

“Right, he’s had a pretty normal childhood so far. I try to get him outside as much as I can and with kids his age”

“Does he go to daycare?”

“No, I’m usually home with him or I have a really great nanny who comes over when I have things to do. We have regular play dates with some neighborhood families regularly though and he always has fun.”

“Yeah, he’s really sociable! The first day of lessons he was really shy, but by the second class he was telling me all about what he did that day and he was always trying to make games with the other kids”

“He loves to make up games” he says fondly.

“He’s a really smart kid. When ever I was explaining something new it was like I could see the gears turning in his head while he tried to figure it out. Maybe smart to a fault, he tends overthinks things and get scared”

“He’s definitely like his father” Chris mumbles before giving me a smirk.

“Maybe so, but clearly you’ve faced fears and he has too. So it’s alright, it’s definitely not a bad thing for him to be like you” 

“Thank you, Elaina, that means a lot” he touches my hand while he’s talking, giving it a light squeeze before moving his hand back to his coffee. I can feel my face heating up and I’m not sure my makeup is covering it up. I try to change the subject casually, but my voice sounds flustered.

“So, um, do you have an idea of what days and times work for you? I’m usually open Monday, Wednesday, Friday after 3 and Tuesday, Thursday after 6 and then totally free on weekends”

“Well my schedule is not that consistent. I can do Monday, Wednesday, Friday at say, 4 this week. But they the week after I’m only around on the weekend, and then the week after I’ll be home Tuesday and Thursday”

“Okay, well as long as the times work with what I wrote here” I pause, pointing to the note I wrote, “I can do whatever. I’ll just let my boss know that she can’t schedule me outside of these times so I’ll be free”

“Really? That would be amazing”

“Yeah, of course. So are you thinking half hour, hour?”

“Whatever you think is best”

“Well if I can keep up his progress I think we could get a lot done in an hour. But it also depends on the setup of your pool. I won’t know everything I can do until I see that, but I think an hour would be the best”

“That’s fine with me. Um so how much do you charge?”

“Fifteen dollars per lesson. But you don’t have to pay me like everyday, we can do it weekly or whatever works for you”

“Fifteen dollars? That’s it?”

“Yes? I wouldn’t say that’s cheap..” I trail off, unsure.

“In hollywood, that’s cheap” he assures me.

“Well you can feel free to pay me more, but that’s my baseline” I say with a chuckle. He doesn’t give me an actual answer, just laughs heavily. The conversation turns to a lighter topic and keeps flowing with a few more casual touches. This is, until Chris notices the time and realizes that he has to go.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize it was so late. I told the nanny I would be back by now and I haven’t even made my other stops yet” he tells me quickly, while picking up his notes and empty coffee cup.

“No, it’s totally fine. I’m sorry for keeping you” I stand along with him and follow him towards the exit.

“I’ll see you Monday at 4 then? I’ll text you my address”

“Yep, don’t forget” I tease.

“You might need to remind me” he says honestly.

“I’ll remind you tonight” I assure him

“Great! I’ll see you Monday” he calls while walking backwards away from me.

“Bye, Chris”

When I get in my car I take a few moments to just sit and process everything. Why did that feel so much like a date? It wasn’t supposed to take that long but somehow it’s already 1 o’clock in the afternoon. When I finally get my bearing I make my home, stopping first at the grocery store to restock my kitchen. I decide to stop at a sandwich shop on the way home, knowing I won’t feel like making dinner after putting all my groceries away. 

I’m finally getting settled into my couch when my phone chimes from my purse in the kitchen. I groan slightly before getting up to retrieve it.

Chris: I think someone forgot to remind me of something


	3. Chapter 3

Monday finally rolled around after a long weekend of overthinking. Again. It wasn’t hard for me to make a lesson plan for Lukas, we had to get him confident with his floats and going underwater first and foremost, but it was also a lot of little games to make sure he associates the water with fun. What was hard, was mentally preparing to see Chris again. I wasn’t nervous, per se, it was mostly just excitement. Working all day was a welcome distraction, I had to work at the pool from 9-3 before heading over to Chris’ house. My GPS told me it would only take around 40 minutes to get there, but that didn’t take into account after school traffic. I finally pulled up to his front gate with only 3 minutes to spare. I parked on the street and made my way over the his gate, looking for the intercom when I heard a buzzing and the gate slide open. Obviously he was expecting me, but I was a little self conscious knowing he was looking for me through the camera..wherever that was. As I was making my way to the door it opened and a dog bolted out, with Chris following quickly behind.

“Dodger, no man get in the house!” Chris called before smiling at me and moving to pull Dodger away from me. “Sorry, I thought he was out back but he heard the door open and thought we were going somewhere”

“No, it’s totally fine. He’s adorable, is he a boxer?” I ask while crouching down to scratch his head.

“Something like that, definitely part boxer, but no one knows what else he is” he chuckles

“Oh yeah, a boxer wouldn’t have a tail, and no where near this much hair” Dodger looks up at me while I’m talking to make eye contact “Would you?” I ask in my “dog” voice. His tail starts wagging faster before he starts licking my face. I can’t help but laugh as he causes me to end up sitting on the ground before I push him away.

“Okay, Dodger, knock it off now” Chris pulls him off me again and directs him towards the house before lending me his hand to pull me up.

“Thanks” I smile at him shyly. He doesn’t let go of my hand right away, just holding it and smiling back at me. I try to hold his eye contact but when I feel heat rushing to my face I look down. It seems to shake him out of whatever happened as well, he gently releases my hand and clears his throat while looking around.

“Um, right this way” he gestures me to follow him towards the house. When we get in the house chris calls out to Lukas who runs over from what I’m assuming is the kitchen area.

“Miss Lainie, you’re here!” he says while bouncing around my legs.

“Hey buddy are you ready to go swimming?”

“We’re going swimming here?” his eyes grow wide with what I’m hoping is excitement.

“Yeah, Lukas, remember we talked about Miss Lainie was going to do private lessons at home from now on?” Chris interjects quickly. Lukas seems to think for a moment before nodding quickly at Chris and running down the hallway with a laugh.

“He probably went to get his suit. I’m gonna go help him, you can make yourself at home here or check out the pool if you want” he suggests before heading towards the hallway. 

I take a quick peek around the living room, looking at all the pictures of Lukas and Dodger with what I’m guess to be cousins. There seems to be a lacking of pictures featuring Chris as well as his wife. There’s only one picture with Chris, it’s what looks to be a selfie of Chris, Lukas, and Dodger. I stop myself from looking closer at the pictures and instead make my way out to the backyard in search of the pool. As soon as I open the door Dodger dashes out in front of me, running a quick lap before picking up a tennis ball and running back towards me. I indulge him for couple throws before going over to the pool area. There’s a fence around the pool and deck area, probably to keep Lukas out, that’s about 4 feet high and has a little gate. I walk over to the gate and start fidgeting with it. I try everything I can think of but can’t get the damn thing open. I sigh in defeat before turning around to decide on my next move. Dodger come up to me again and starts nosing me for attention. I give in, sitting down in the grass I start throwing his ball again while I wait for Chris and Lukas to come out.

Chris comes out about 10 minutes later with Lukas on his hip. I stand up quickly to meet him halfway.

“Lukas is a little nervous” Chris half whispers so me.

“Oh, why’s that?”

“Can you tell Elaina why you’re nervous bud?” Lukas just buries his face in Chris’ shoulder, sniffling his tears. I look to Chris expecting an explanation. “He just said he’s scared, but he wouldn’t say what he’s scared of”

I nod thoughtfully before coming up with an idea “Lukas, would it make you feel better if your dad stays by the pool and watches you?” he shakes his head without looking up. “How about if Dodger watches you?” he picks his head up at that idea but eventually shakes his head no again. “Hm, what if your dad gets in the pool with us?” I look at Chris, unsure of how he’d feel about that idea. He doesn’t look especially happy about it, but when Lukas gets a big smile on his face and asks him, he can’t refuse.

“Okay, bud. But just today, we can’t do this everyday”

“Okay, Daddy!”

“Okay, how about you go with Elaina while I go change. I’ll be right back” he sets Lukas on the ground before walking back towards the house, shaking his head as he goes.

“Lukas, can you tell me what you’re scared of?” I ask him while we wait for Chris. He won’t look at me and just shakes his head so I decide to change the subject. We talk about what we’re going to do today and he gets back into his normal, happy self.

Chris doesn’t take long, returning with swim trunks and a t-shirt on. I internally sigh at the fact that he’s still wearing a shirt while I lead Lukas towards the side of the pool. I had him sit on the edge next to me and Chris sat on Lukas’ other side. We play the Paint Game which is where we pretend to mix different colors of paint into the water and put the ‘paint’ on our bodies, at the end we have to ‘wash all the paint off’ by going all the way under water. I slide in first, making a show of going completely under to get the ‘paint’ off my head. Chris slides in next, looking hesitant but going under nonetheless. I move to help Lukas slide into the water but he asks Chris to do it instead. 

Chris looks nervous as he helps Lukas in, “okay, you gonna get all the paint off Lukas?” I ask him. He locks eyes with Chris and shakes his head no. Chris looks at me, nervous. I can’t help but take a little pity on him, “how about we just get your nose wet, can you blow bubbles and get your nose wet” he nods his head before leaning down to put his mouth in the water.

“Good job! We’re going to work on your back float now, how about you do it once with me so I can show your dad how to hold you and then you can try it with him”

“Okay!” Chris passes Lukas to me and help him lay back, supporting the middle of his back and tell him to take a big breath. He does as I say, taking a big breath and keeping his head back, I try taking my hand away but he starts to sink so I pick him back up. I pass him back to Chris and guide him through how to hold him.

That’s how the lesson goes, reviewing the basics and teaching Chris how to help Lukas in the water. The hour goes by quick, partially because we started late, and partially because hanging out with Chris and Lukas didn’t feel like work at all. We ended class by having Lukas jump in, first having me catch him, then jumping again and having Chris catch him. Lukas said that Chris and I had to jump in too. Chris humbly denied but I gave in, swimming over to the deeper part before hopping out and jumping back in. I swim underwater towards them and pop up a couple feet away. Lukas giggles with glee at my trick, trying to get me to do it again. I refuse, but with the promise of doing it again on Wednesday. 

When we get out of the pool the temperature has dropped considerably, Chris wraps Lukas in his towel quickly before picking him up and heading towards the house. I follow close behind with my towel wrapped around my shoulders. Inside the house is a bit warmer, I dry myself a little better before tucking my towel back in my bag and pulling a dress over my suit. Chris reappears, sans shirt and with a towel around his waist. My breath catching in my throat as I take in the sight of his bare chest. My eyes taking too long to meet his. I see a slight pink rise to his cheeks as he clears his throat.

“If you want you can shower here, it’s kind of cold, you might not want to be outside in wet clothes” he suggests.

“Oh, that’s really nice of you. But you don’t have to do that, I’m used to East Coast winters so this is nothing” I tell him while slinging my bag over my shoulders. “Plus I don’t have any soap, thank you though”

“You’re from the East Coast? Me too”

“Yeah, Boston right?” I ask him, oh god, is it weird that I know that?

“Right! Where are you from?”

“Salem”

“You’re a Massachusetts girl?” he asks with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen.

“Yeah, most people are too caught up on the ‘Salem witch trial’ thing to get to the Massachusetts part though” I chuckle.

“Oh I bet, that’s got to be a cool place to grow up though, I remember going there on a school trip once”

“Yeah, well really anywhere around Salem and Boston is just loaded with history, so if you’re into that sort of thing it’s really cool. But also when you’re from there it kind of loses it’s charm” he nods his understanding and we’re left in a bit of silence before Lukas comes running out from the hallway in his pajamas.

“Well, I should get going” I say as I make my way towards the door.

“Miss Lainie isn’t going to stay for dinner?” Lukas asks Chris, who seems unsure how to answer.

“Uh, not today bud, maybe another time though” his statement turns into a question as we make eye contact. I smile at him before turning back to Lukas.

“Maybe some other day, okay? I’ve gotta get home”

“Okay,” he seems to pout for a moment before he runs over to me and hugs my legs. “Bye Miss Lainie”

“Bye Lukas, I’ll see you on Wednesday” I ruffle his hair a bit when he releases me before I step out the door. The door isn’t completely shut when I hear Lukas talking to Chris.

“Daddy can Miss Lainie be my new mommy”

“What?” Chris sounds shocked, and I know I should step away from the door and stop eavesdropping, but I need to know what happened to Lukas’ mom.

“Well, since my mommy left, I want a new one. I think Miss Lainie would be a good new mommy” Lukas tells Chris with the sincerity that only a child can muster.

Chris sighs heavily and I can picture him rubbing his hands over his face and through his damp hair. “I don’t know bud, it doesn’t just work like that” it’s silent for a few moment and I’m scared that they noticed I hadn’t left, but Chris speaks up again after a second “I like her too though, so maybe I can figure something out”


	4. Chapter 4

The first two weeks of Lukas’ Private lessons went smoothly. He was improving at an amazing rate and soon was willing to go underwater all the time. He also asked me to stay for dinner after every lesson. I always politely refused and Chris never pushed the issue either way. That is until Thursday evening, Lukas didn’t want to get out of the pool when lessons were over and it was warm enough that Chris and I just stayed by the pool to watch him. While Lukas was preoccupied by splashing Dodger, Chris sat down to dangle his legs in the pool next to me.

“So, I know tonight is too short of notice, but maybe after Lukas’ next lesson you could stay for dinner?”

“Sure, I would like that” I meet his eyes only to quickly look away again in an attempt to hide my blush.

“Great, I’m sure Lukas will appreciate it”

Just Lukas?

“I mean, I’ll appreciate it too” he nervously runs his hand over his beard.

My eyes grow wide at his words, “Oh god, did I say that out loud?” he laughs and nods his confirmation. I bury my head in my hands and groan in embarrassment.

He bumps my shoulder with his to get my attention, “Hey, it’s fine. I really would appreciate you staying for dinner”

“Well, I really would like to”

Our next lesson isn’t until the following Friday. Chris had a couple reshoots and meetings out of town and took Lukas (and a nanny) with him. When I get to their house for lessons Lukas is as full of energy as ever. The lesson goes smoothly as usual and Chris shows me to the bathroom to shower while he gets Lukas a bath and starts dinner. I shower and change quickly, but take some times to apply a little bit of makeup and dry my hair as much as I can with a towel. When I find my way back to the kitchen and find Chris cooking while Lukas dances around the kitchen to some Disney songs that are playing over the speakers. I lean against the doorway for a while, not wanting to disrupt the scene in front of me. It doesn’t take long for Lukas to notice me, he runs over and pulls me into the middle of the kitchen with him. I dance with him for a couple songs, eventually picking him up and spinning him around as “A Whole New World” comes on.

Chris turns around to watch us while the water on the stove boils and laughs as we sing. Dinner doesn’t take long, he makes spaghetti and garlic bread.

“Daddy, is the basghetti done yet?” Lukas whines as we wait for the garlic bread to cook.

“In a minute bud, how about you go sit down” Lukas dashes off quickly, leaving me and Chris alone. “He really likes you” Chris tells me once Lukas is out of earshot.

“Well, I really like him too. He’s a really great kid Chris, you’ve done a good job”

“Thank you, it means a lot to hear that” he moves to take the bread out of the oven and it’s quiet for a few moments. I grab the bowl of spaghetti as Chris puts the bread on a plate to take to the dining room. “You don’t have to do that, you’re the guest”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s just a bowl Chris” he rolls his eyes at my words but chuckles as I walk ahead of him.

Dinner goes too quickly, but the wine Chris gave me calms any nerves I may have had. Lukas almost falls asleep on his plate, the days of traveling and jet lag finally catching up with him. Chris gets him to finish and cleans him up quickly before going to put him to bed, assuring me that he’ll be back out in about 15 minutes. I clean up the dishes from the dining room and take them into the kitchen. I’m not sure if he wants his dishes in the dishwasher so I just rinse the plates and glasses. I’m rinsing the last plate when Chris comes back into the kitchen.

“Remember when I said you were the guest?” he laughs “Honestly, Elaina, you don’t need to do that”

“Well I wasn’t just going to sit and do nothing while you put Lukas to bed. Do you put these in the dishwasher or wash them by hand?”

“The bowls won’t fit in the dishwasher, but it doesn’t matter because you aren’t doing my dishes”

“Well, technically this one was mine” I say, pointing to a plate with a smirk.

“You’re not washing the dishes”

“Fine” I hold up my hands in surrender before moving away from the sink to dry them. I grab my wine glass, taking a sip for something to do.

“You probably shouldn’t drive right now” he says, breaking the silence.

“I had one glass, I think I’ll be alright”

“Well, you shouldn’t risk that. I could put on a movie or we could just talk or something” he trails off.

“Okay” I’m not sure what else to say, but he moves towards the living room so I assume he’s going to turn a movie on.

I sit in the corner of the couch, pulling my legs under me, wine glass still in hand, while he puts something in the DVD player. It’s not a movie I recognize, but I soon forget about it when Chris sits in the middle of the couch and rests a hand on my knee. I try to focus on the movie at the beginning, but when Chris stands rubbing his thumb in a soothing pattern across my leg and thigh I give up. I sigh and reach to for the remote to turn the volume down.

“I’m sorry” he says quickly and take his hand away from me as soon as I move.

“No, it’s fine” I hold his hand in mine. “I just, Chris what happened to Lukas’ mom?” my boldness shocks even me and Chris looks down, closing his eyes tightly before resuming our eye contact.

“Right, okay. Uh her name is Lauren, we were together for a little over a year before she found out she was pregnant”

“Is she famous?” I ask when he’s silent for a moment.

“No, not at all. We were somehow able to hide it from the media and it was great while it lasted. We weren’t married or even engaged, getting pregnant before marriage was not in the plan for either of us. Of course, even though it wasn’t planned, I was ecstatic. I think, looking back on it, that my excitement may have overshadowed her nerves about being a mom. After Lukas arrived she withdrew from me a lot. I had hoped that after Lukas arrived we would get married and eventually let the media know. When I would mention marriage she just withdrew more. She wasn’t a bad mom, but she never seemed as close to Lukas as I expected. One day I woke up to Lukas crying, Lauren wasn’t in bed so I thought she was in his room. I got out of bed to go help her, but she was gone. There was a note, but it didn’t really explain anything. Just that she was safe, and that I shouldn’t try to contact her. I thought she was coming back, you know? I thought she just needed a break for a day or a couple days, but then it turned into months, years. I never tried to contact her, I didn’t even know what to say” a few tears fall down his cheeks and he looks away from me to hide them.

“I’m so sorry, Chris. I shouldn’t have asked that”

“No, no. It’s okay, really. I’ve been scared of getting close to someone again after that, especially people outside of the business. I just feel like no one realizes how hard living this life is. Plus I had Lukas to worry about, but I like you Elaina, maybe more than I should. But after what happened with Lauren it’s going to be hard to open up completely again. You don’t need to be brought into this mess” he gestures to himself.

“You’re not a mess” I grab his arm to get him to look at me. “I don’t expect you to just instantly open up to me Chris, but I’m here if you need me” a few more tears trail down his cheeks and I quickly wipe them away. 

He leans into my touch for a moment before pulling me into a hug. We sit there and just hold each other, it feels like hours but is still over too soon.

“I, um, I’m sorry” he tells with a nervous chuckle when he pulls away.

“It’s okay. I should probably go though, are you okay?” I ask after noticing how late it is.

“Right, right. Yeah, I’m good” he gets up to walk me to the door, or so I thought, but he goes so far as to walk me to my car. It’s quiet while we walk, but not in an uncomfortable way.

“Thanks for dinner”

“Yeah, of course. It was really nice having you here. It’s nice to talk to someone other than a 3 year old”

“Agreed, I’m free to talk anytime, you have my number” I tease.

“Thanks, Elaina” I nod and move to open my door. He takes a small step towards me and I take the hint to hug him, placing a lingering kiss on his cheek before pulling away completely.

“I’ll see you later, Chris” He smiles his agreement and closes my door after me, giving me a wave as I drive away.


	5. Chapter 5

Scheduling was crazy the next few weeks. Chris was in and out of town, sometimes taking Lukas with him, sometimes leaving him with a nanny. Two weeks went by where we only got 1 lesson in. Even when Lukas stayed home with a nanny Chris didn’t want me to come, something about adding stress to the nanny and to Lukas. With all the rescheduling and cancelling lessons that was happening it was like I was texting or calling Chris nonstop. Which sounds nice, right? The problem is, we were literally only talking about lessons. His messages were short and to the point, lacking in the flirty banter I had gotten used to. After almost a month of no lessons Chris is finally back for a little over a week. We go back to our usual Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule for the week.

When I get off work on Monday my stomach is in knots. It feels like the first day of school all over again. There’s no reason for me to be this anxious, it’s just Chris and Lukas after all. I can’t decide if it was just because I haven’t seen them in a while or if it was because Chris and I left things on an awkward note. When I get there Lukas answers the door, only to be followed by Chris reminding him that he needs to get Chris before he opens the door. Lukas ignored him and leaped into my arms to hug me.

“I missed you Miss Lainie!”

“I missed you too buddy, how have you been” Chris gives me a tight smile before he points that he’s going back to his office. Lukas is already in his swimsuit so we make our way out to the pool. We spend most of the class reviewing since he forgot a lot during the accidental break.

“Do your back float and I’m going to count to ten and then I want you to roll over onto your front float and hold your breath as long as you can, okay?”

“Yup” once he’s steady I move my hand away from supporting him and start counting, when I get to ten he rolls over, taking a deep breath, and puts him face in to front float. He doesn’t stay floating for long, he picks his head up almost as fast as he put it in.

“What kind of front float was that?” I tease while holding him facing me, he shrugs his response. “Okay, let’s work on that. Remember to take a really big breath and blow the air out really slow so you don’t run out too quickly. And what do you do with your arms?”

“Airplane arms!”

“No, that’s your back float. When we front float we do Superman arms”

“I don’t like Superman”

“Well, why’s that?”

“Cause my daddy’s Captain Mamerica”

“He is Captain America, but that doesn’t mean Superman is bad” he gives me a look the says Superman is most definitely bad, “Oh-kay maybe he is bad”

“He is, Captain Mamerica is the only superhero we can talk about”

“Not even Thor? Or Iron Man?”

“Nope!”

“Did you dad tell you that?”

“Yup!”

“Alrighty, well Captain America can’t fly so I can’t tell you to do Captain America arms, so now you better just remember where your arms go when you do your front float”

“I’ll remember”

We work on kicking and ice cream scoop arms, finishing up with a biggest splash contest. Lukas doesn’t want to get out after our hour was up so I agree to stay in with him until he tires out or Chris comes out to call him in. I put a lifejacket on him so he can jump in the deep end while I sit by the edge. Eventually I move back into the water, the brisk evening air becoming to cold to stay on the side in a wet suit. I relaxe into a back float, occasionally looking up to check on Lukas. Suddenly there’s a big splash right by my head, I stand up quickly and wipe the water from my face. At first I think that it’s Lukas, but as I realize that there’s no way Lukas could’ve made that big of a splash I feel two large hands wrap around my waist and spin me around.

“Gotcha” he says triumphantly before setting me back on my feet.

“You scared me!” I saw with a splash to his face, I can’t help but notice his lack of shirt this time. The perfectly sculpted muscles covered with a light layer of chest hair.

“Well you were sleeping on the job” he teases.

“I was not sleeping, besides my hour is up”

“Oh yeah, why are you still here?” There’s silence for a beat before he realizes how that sounded “That came out wrong, I just mean why are you guys still in the pool?”

“Lukas didn’t want to get out and I didn’t know where you were so I told him I’d stay in with him for a while”

“Yeah, sorry about earlier. My manager has a ton of auditions set up. I know I told him that I would be willing to start a couple films again not that Lukas is older, but he went a little overboard so I have to figure out which ones I even want to try and it’s just been a mess”

“I’m sorry, are you just looking at acting again or directing?”

“Just acting right now, I need to get back into it a bit before directing will be a good fit for me”

“So maybe wait until Lukas is in school?”

“That’s the plan as of right now. It’s still going to be hard though”

“It’s always going to be hard” I reach out to touch his arm, aiming for friendly comfort, we seem to have gravitated closer while talking and I realize that we’re almost touching already.

“It’s getting late, do you want to stay for dinner?”

“That would be nice”

Chris coaxes Lukas out of the pool with the promise of food. We all walk to the house together and I dry myself as best I can to avoid leaving puddles throughout the house. Chris takes Lukas to help him change, I take a seat at the kitchen island while waiting for them to come back. Lukas comes running out first in flannel pajamas, Chris follows behind a few minutes later carrying sweat pants and a t-shirt.

“I thought you might want to change out of your suit”

“Thank you! Your house is really cold” I say only half kidding

“I can turn the AC down”

“You don’t need to do that for the little while that I’m here. Besides, with these pants I’m sure I’ll be warm enough” I excuse myself to the bathroom to change, thankful of my emergency sports bra and panties that I keep in my bag. By the time I’m done changing Chris has sandwiches made up for all of us.

“Sorry it’s not as fancy as spaghetti, but it’s fast and tastes good”

“No, it’s perfect, who can turn down a good sandwich?”

Lukas almost falls asleep on his plate again, the extra time in the water seemed to tire him out more than we originally thought. Chris carries him off to bed, telling me that he’ll be back in a few minutes.

“Didn’t even have to read to him, he was out like a light”

“Swimming will do that to you. So, we’re doing Monday, Wednesday, Friday this week right?”

“Yeah as long as that’s good for you?”

“Yeah, of course. I can give you these back on Wednesday then” I tell him, gesturing to the clothes.

“Yeah whenever, they look better on you than they do on me” I can’t help but blush at his comment, looking away in an attempt to hide my smile.

“I should probably get going”

“Are you sure, I mean we could watch a movie or something”

“Um, sure, maybe not a movie though. It’s late and I have to work early tomorrow”

“How about one episode of your show of choice”

“Blue Bloods?”

“Sure!” he leads the way to the living room and queues up Netflix before settling on the couch next to me. His arm starts by resting on the back of the couch behind me but eventually falls to rest around my shoulders. About half way through the episode I stop resisting and let myself lean into his shoulder and rest my head by his chest. I swear I can feel him smile from my movements as his arms moves to cup mine and pull me closer. As the episode draws to a close Chris doesn’t move. As much as I would like to stay cuddled up to him, I really do have to get going. I pick my head up and start to lean away. Chris takes the hint and moves his arm off my shoulders, instead, moving to grab the remote. He turns it off and follows me to walk me to my car.

“So I was thinking..”

“That’s never good” I tease when he pauses for a moment. He gives me a lopsided grin before continuing.

“Would you like to get dinner with me on Friday?”

“I just had dinner with you” I remind him, slightly confused by his question.

“I mean not here, and not with Lukas”

“Why not with Lukas?”

“Because,” he sighs dramatically before continuing. “Elaina, I’m asking you on a date”

“A date? You want to go on a date with me?” I’m sure my face is screaming confusion but Chris just lets out a nervous chuckle.

“Yes, I want to go on a date with you. Is that a yes?”

“Yes, of course it’s a yes, I just. Wow.” My brain is going a hundred miles a minute trying to put together the idea that he actually likes me and want to try this. I don’t notice Chris moving until his arms are wrapping around my waist. I fall against his easily, and wrap my arms around his neck.

“I’ll see you on Wednesday” He says while giving me a tight squeeze. He loosens his arms slightly and leans down to kiss my cheek before releasing me completely.

“Bye” I get in my car quickly to stop any further embarrassment. I’m giddy and anxious the whole way home. I take a shower and prepare for bed, the whole time the only thing that’s running through my head is: I can’t believe I have a date with Chris Evans.


	6. Chapter 6

Wednesday’s lessons went off without a hitch. Chris was busy again so I only saw him for a moment when I got there and for a brief conversation before I left.

“May I ask where we’re going on Friday?”

“It’s a surprise” he smiles cheekily at my sigh.

“Okay, well can you at least give me an idea of what I should wear?”

“Maybe a dress, but not anything too fancy”

“That’s vague”

“That’s the point” I sigh again, but accept his answer. He doesn’t walk me to my car this time, as Lukas is still waiting for his bath, instead he kisses my cheek as we reach the door.

“I’ll see you Friday” I call to him him as I’m walking down the driveway.

He waves before calling out “can’t wait”

Work Friday morning seems to drag by, but by noon the last few hours fly by. The drive to Chris’ house takes a bit longer than normal, school traffic is always worse on Fridays. As I’m walking up to the front gate it opens before I even have to press the buzzer, I chuckle and blush lightly as I continue my way up the driveway. Chris opens the door and Dodger runs out to meet me, just like the first time I came here. I scratch his head before calling him to follow me back inside. As I approach the door Chris smiles widely at me and looks like he’s about to say something, but before he can Lukas sprints out the door and jumps to hug me.

“Lainie, Lainie, are you going on a date with my Daddy?” I look at Chris over Lukas’ shoulder and raise my eyebrow with a smirk.

“Uh, yeah buddy I think so”

“You think so?” Chris smirks back at me.

“Well, I’m not we actually called it that. But we’re definitely going out to eat”

“It’s a date” Chris assures me. Lukas pulls back to smile at me and I shrug but smile.

“Apparently it’s a date”

Lukas’ lesson goes by quickly, Chris stays out on the patio and watches which means my heart is racing the whole time. When it’s time to get out Lukas complains at first, but Chris simply reminds him that if he doesn’t get out then we can’t go on our date. Lukas is out of the pool is a flash, grabbing his towel and running towards the house. Chris laughs and follows after him. I grab my towel and meet them in the house.

“I’m going to go home and shower and change” I tell him, awkwardly, once I get inside

“Okay, the reservation is at 7:30 so I can pick you up at 7?”

“Sounds good, I’ll text you my address” He takes a step towards me and kisses my cheek, once again. Lukas squeals excitedly behind Chris as he takes a step back and turns to look at Lukas “Watch it, you” he smirks and Lukas runs down the hall, giggling. I laugh nervously before giving them both a small wave and heading towards the door.

It takes about 45 minutes to get home. Once I get into my apartment I jump in the shower. I rush through washing the chlorine from my hair, trying to save time so I can do my hair and makeup. After getting out of the shower I go to my bedroom to look through my closet. After trying on all my dresses I settle for a floral summer dress with thin straps and a sweetheart neckline. I grab some wedges and put them next to my purse before heading back to the bathroom. I take the time to blowdry my hair, hoping it won’t frizz up in the end of summer heat. I apply a light amount of makeup, just enough to even out my skin tone and bring out my eyes. I can’t figure out what to do with my hair. I can tell that if I just leave it, it will be huge by the end of the night. After a lot of thought I decide to curl it in big waves. Once everything is done I have about 5 minutes to spare. I pace around my living room, sipping at a glass of water in an attempt to calm my nerves.

The doorbell rings and I swear my heart stopped. It takes me a moment before I realize that I have to go open it. I move quickly, almost tripping over the heels I’m not used to wearing. I open the door and Chris is standing there with a big smile on his face and flowers in his hand.

“Uh, these are for you” he stutters after I catch him looking me up and down. Not that I mind because I did the same thing to him. He’s wearing a light blue button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, along with khaki pants and shoes that match.

“Thank you, they’re lovely. You can come in, I’m gonna put these in some water” I turn towards the kitchen and he follows, closing the door behind him. I watch as he looks around the living room/kitchen area and I become slightly self conscious.

“You have a nice place, did you decorate this all yourself?” he points to the walls covered in pictures, signs, and paintings.

“Yeah, I used to go to a lot of thrift shops and antique shows. They always have the best stuff”

“Why’d you stop going?”

“Ran out of wall space” I say with a shrug, “I can’t go without buying anything. We should go though, right?”

He looks at his watch and seems slightly started at the time, “Yeah, we should”

I lock the door behind me before turning to follow him to the car. He walks next to me, wasting no time before taking my hand in his. I give him a small smile and he squeezes my hand in response. When we get to his car he opens and closes the door for me before crossing to the drivers side. Once we start driving he holds my hand again. There’s an uncomfortable silence for a few beats before I break it.

“So where are we going?”

“I told you it’s a surprise”

“Yeah, I know, but we’re literally on the way there. You still won’t tell me?” he smiles and shakes his head no. I pull my hand away from his to jokingly cross my arms and sulk. He looks at me with furrowed brows before bursting out laughing, I try to keep a straight face but his laugh is too infectious and I start giggling along with him. The awkward feels are gone and the rest of the drive returns to our usual chatter.

We end up at brewery with has a rooftop patio that overlooks the ocean. We get there just in time to watch the sunset over the horizon while we look over the menu. After we’ve ordered we go stand by the railing to look over the water while sipping our beers.

“As much as I miss home, there’s nothing better than watching the sun set over the ocean”

“Yeah, I guess California does have some perks” he agrees. “So, tell me about yourself”

“That’s such an awful question. What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know. Tell me about your family”

“Okay, well I have an older brother and a younger sister, my brother’s name is Xavier and my sister is Jazz”

“And your parents?”

“My parents are high school sweetheart”

“No kidding, and they’re still together?”

“Yup, going strong” I giggle.

“Did they meet in high school then, or have they known each other like their whole lives?”

“They met in elementary school technically, my dad and his family moved to Massachusetts from India when he was like 8”

“India? That’s really cool”

“You say that as if you couldn’t already tell I was Indian” I tease.

He blushes and looks flustered before continuing, “well, I mean, I guess I assumed. What about your mom?”

“She’s as white as they come, German, Irish, and Polish”

“Hm okay, I could see it” he say thoughtfully looking over my face

“It’s just my eyes, right?” I quirk my eyebrow at him.

“Yeah okay, the green is a little off putting at first glance, but everything about you is so beautiful”

“Thank you” I look down and blush, “that looks like our food” I point to a waiter coming out of the kitchen. He nods his agreement and we return to our table. The food is good, but with Chris’ company I could be eating cardboard with a smile. The night seems to go too quickly. We talk about our families and our dreams, about how we got to where we are today.

“What is it that brought you to LA? I can’t believe there’s no lifeguard positions closer to home” he teases in between bites.

“No, I came out here to act” I roll my eyes

“Why’d you make that face?”

“It was just a stupid fantasy, I should’ve known better”

“How long have you been out here?”

“About a year and a half. I got a degree, double majoring in business and acting. And then I worked at a company back in Massachusetts for a couple years before I decided I’d try my hand at acting”

“That’s a big move, but you have a good backup plan”

“And yet I’m not working in either of my fields” I chuckle humorlessly. “Sorry, my career isn’t my favorite topic”

“I understand. But think of it this way, if you hadn’t gotten this job then we never would’ve met” he gives me a million dollar smile and a wink and I can’t help but laugh along with him.

He walks me back up to my apartment, holding my hand and rubbing his thumb in little circles. When we get to my door I unlock it but don’t open it right away.

“I had a really good time tonight” I say, internally flinching at the cliche.

“Me too,” he breathes a laugh, still holding my hand. It’s quiet for a few seconds and I almost open my door to go inside, but he stops me by putting his free hand against my cheek. We stay there, just looking and breathing each other in. I’m not sure who makes the first move, but our lips are moving gently against each others and I feel like I’m floating. His hands move from cupping my cheeks so that one is along the back of my neck and one is against my lower back, both pulling me closer. My hands go his neck, then his hair, tangling myself closer. The kiss goes from slow and gentle to fast and rough in a matter of seconds. He starts kissing down my neck while I catch my breath. As I breathe and the fog clears from my brain I realize where this is going.

“Chris” my voice comes out crackly and I put my hands on his sides to put a small amount of space between us. He doesn’t stop kissing my neck, but hums his response. “Is this a good idea?” he stops then and rests his head in the crook of my neck with a sigh.

“I don’t know,” he pauses briefly before picking his head up and continuing “do you not want this?” he looks broken, and maybe a little scared.

I cup his cheeks with both my hands, “Of course I want this. I want us, I just mean don’t you have to get home to Lukas?”

“Yeah, yes. I told the nanny I would be home tonight” he looks away from me as he talks.

“That’s what I thought. I really did have a good time Chris, I’d like to do this again, if you’re interested”

“Of course I’m interested” his eyes meeting mine once again. I smile before closing the distance between us again, it’s just a light, lingering kiss. “I should go” he whispers against my lips before pressing his, hard, against mine once more. After that he takes a step back and puts his hands in his pockets.

“Text me when you get home”

“I will, goodnight Elaina”


	7. Chapter 7

Chris is out of town again for a week. He took Lukas with him so I won’t be seeing either of them until the following Monday. The days couldn’t go by fast enough. Chris texted me when he got home from the date, like he said he would, and we had basically been talking ever since. It wasn’t constant, but we would just pick up where we left off whenever we had time. Most of his messages were telling me about funny stuff Lukas was doing while Chris was trying to work. There may have been a couple I miss you’s that slipped out late at night. When Monday finally came around, I was a ball of energy. I woke up early and couldn’t keep the smile off my face as the day progressed. I don’t think I’ve ever left work that fast in my life, but knowing I got to see Chris and Lukas had me very excited.

I got to Chris’ house earlier than I usually do and decided I would just go inside a little early. I had to hit the buzzer for him to open the gate but he met me at the door. I swear that even if someone told me his smile would kill me, I wouldn’t look away. And it’s even better to know I’m the one who put that smile there. When I’m close enough he holds my wrist and leans in to give me a kiss on the cheek.

“Hello” I squeak

“Hi” he leaned out of the kiss but only by a few inches. I watch as his eyes dart down to my lips before coming back up.

I’m about to close the distance and answer his unspoken question when Lukas comes barreling down the hallway. “Lainie!”

“Lukas!” I imitate his call as I hoist him onto my hip.

“Lainie, did you go on a date with my daddy?”

“I think you already know that answer to that one, don’t you?” he giggles his response while looking between me and Chris. “I feel like I’m missing something” I look to Chris for some sort of reason for Lukas’ goofy behavior.

“Me too,” he assures me while looking suspiciously at Lukas. “I don’t know what he’s thinking” Lukas just grins at the two of us innocently.

“Well, on that note, are you ready to swim?”

“Yes!” I set him down and he runs ahead of me towards to pool. Chris tags along, I notice that he’s wearing swim trunks but decide not to question him and just go with the flow.

Lukas is to the point where he’s almost got his front crawl down. The main problem now is breathing. He likes to take a lot of time to breath in and out a few times, but when he does that his legs and butt starts to sink. I start by just holding him up while he breathes, but quickly realize that even with my constant reminders to only take one big breath in he wasn’t getting it. I try a new approach by taking him over to the side of the pool to hold on to the wall while we practice our breathing, arms and kicking. I get him to do a front float with his hands on the wall and then show him how to do a stroke with one arm and grab the wall before doing the same with the other hand.

“Good, now we’re going to add your breathing. So we’re going to use a little saying, it goes ‘Talk to the fishies, listen to the fishies’ so you talk to the fishies and blow bubbles out when your whole face is in the water, and then when you need to breathe you listen to the fishies by making sure your ear is still in the water when you take a big breath in”

He tries it a few times and eventually gets the idea of only taking one breath in before putting his face back in and blowing the bubbles out. Now the problem is when to breath. He has a hard time know when to turn his head and that causes his arm to sit either down by his hip or up in the air too long while he’s breathing. It takes us quite awhile before I can get him to the point where he has good rhythmic breathing.

“That’s perfect Lukas! Do you think you can try it away from the wall now?” he nods his head in agreement so I help him get to the middle of the pool so he can swim the length while I walk next to him. He does really well the first couple stokes, but before long he’s falling back into his old habits.

“Okay, that was good. We’re going to keep working on that next time okay? I think it’s time to get out”

“I don’t wanna get out” he whines, more to Chris than to me.

“You don’t have to get out yet, I’m gonna come swim with you” Chris tells him before turning around to take his shirt off. I’m not sure if I’m just supposed to leave or what’s happening but when Chris turns around all thoughts leave my head. It’s not the first time I’ve seen his shirtless, but it’s as if our ‘relationship’ has made me see him with brand new eyes. From the thin coat of hair covering his chest down to the way his adonis belt stands out against his low rise shorts, I have to consciously stop gawking when I realize he’s looking at me.

“You’re welcome to hang out with us if you want” my eyes travel back up his body and find him smirking at me. I want to not be embarrassed, but my body betrays me and I feel my face heat up.

“Sure, I can stay for a bit”

“Great!” Chris says before jumping into the pool a few feet next to me. I turn away from his splash, taking a few moments to wipe the water from my eyes before I go to turn back around. Chris hugs me from behind just as I’m about to turn towards him, resting his chin on my shoulder when I lean back into him.

“Hello” I say as I cover his arms with my own.

“Hello” I can hear the smile in his voice and can’t help but smile with him. I take a deep breath and Chris presses a kiss along my neck. I’m prepared to stay here forever, but someone has other plans. Lukas suddenly appears, running and screaming as he leaps into the pool right next to us. The splash makes Chris release me to cover his eyes and my immediate reaction is to grab Lukas to help him get shallower. He lets me help him to where he can touch and then I make him put a life jacket on so he can play in the deep end without me and Chris worrying.

“But Lainie I know how to swim”

“I know you do, bud, but we still worry when you’re in the deep end without one of us next to you” he pouts a little but lets me put the life jacket on him. Once he’s buckled in he runs around the pool to the deep end and starts jumping in. I walk/swim back over to Chris, he’s moved deeper so only the very tops of his shoulders are above the water, and I can’t touch. We talk about small unimportant things for awhile, watching Lukas as he’s jumping in or chasing Dodger around the yard. Eventually Chris pulled my arms up to rest on his shoulders so I didn’t have to tread water.

“I know it was only a week, but I really did miss you” he tells me after a few moments of silence.

My eyes flash up to his and there’s so much fear behind them. “I missed you too” I assure him and caress his cheek. He leans into me hand and I can see his nerves melt away.

“I have a couple meetings in town this week, but they’re during your usual time so we won’t be able to have another lesson until Friday” as he talks he moves me legs so they’re wrapped around his waist. My breathing speeds up slightly and all I can get out is a shaky “okay”

“And, I want to take you out again”

“On Friday?”

“Actually I was thinking Saturday, if you’re free. I have a plan that may take a little longer than just one night” his hands are traveling from my hips to my knees and back again, causing my mind to blank and everything other than him seems very far away. I nod and take a deep breath, I know my eyes flash to his lips but I didn’t think he’d notice. He leans in slowly and I close the distance. One of his hands moves to my hair and my legs tighten around his hips. I break away suddenly as I hear Lukas’ giggling getting louder and Dodger’s feet on the cement. I tried to take a step away from him but forgot that we were deeper than I could touch so when I let go of him I accidentally go under water. I pop back up quickly and swim over to where I can touch. When I turn around Chris is laughing, his whole body going into the action. I can’t help but laugh with him when Lukas looks at us, confused. He jumps in the pool and swims over to his dad. He clings to Chris’ neck and tries to get his attention.

“Daddy, Daddy what’s so funny?”

“It’s nothing, bud, don’t worry about it” he tells him inbetween little fits of laughter.

“But I wanna laugh too, Daddy”

“I know, it was just something that Lainie did. It’s hard to explain” Lukas pouts a little bit and Chris decides it’s time they get out. Chris offers to make me dinner again, and I’m about to politely refuse but when he says he’s making a stir fry I can’t say no. Chris takes Lukas to give him a bath and put him in his pajamas. I change into some clothes that I brought, determined to not awkwardly steal more of Chris’ sweatpants (no matter how badly I may want to). Lukas meets me back in the kitchen and tells me that Chris is showering. All the ingredients for the stir fry are sitting out on the island so I decide to start prepping. I’m chopping up some peppers when Chris joins us back in the kitchen.

“What are you doing? Elaina I said I was cooking for you” He’s smiling too much to actually come across as mad.

“I was just sitting here doing nothing, I thought I’d make myself useful. Besides, I bet I’m a better cook than you” I tease.

“Oh really?”

“Yup”

“I’d like to test that”

“Well I’d be happy to make something for you, maybe you and Lukas can have dinner at my apartment some time” I’m surprised the words made it out without the butterflies in my stomach stopping them.

Chris nods before speaking, “I like that idea, or you can finish making this stir fry for us”

“I don’t think you want me to do that”

“Why not?”

“You probably won’t like how spicy I make stir fry”

“That’s a good point” he moves to take over and I sit on a stool next to Lukas.

Dinner goes quickly, and tastes great. Afterwards Chris asks me to wait while he puts Lukas to bed. I make my way into the living room and scroll through my phone while I wait. It takes him longer than normal, which surprises me since we spent a lot of time in the pool.

“Sorry, Lukas had a lot to talk about” he tells me as he sits down next to me.

“That’s alright”

“He actually had a lot to say about you”

“Well that makes me a little nervous” I admit.

“Elaina, if we’re going to do this I need to know where you want this to go. I can’t just have a fling, not with Lukas”

“Of course, Chris. I know that. This is more than a fling for me” I sit up on my knees so that I’m closer to him as I talk. He nods as he cups my cheek and rests his forehead against mine. He guides me so that I’m straddling his legs and starts kissing me again. With nothing to interrupt us and the way his hands are roaming my body I’m nervous about where this is going to go. But his hands never stray under my clothes and when my hips grind against his slightly he stops.

“I’m sorry” I whisper.

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s just, it’s been awhile and” he won’t meet my eyes as he rambles.

“Hey, it’s okay. Whenever you’re ready, okay? I know that a lot has happened, probably more than I know. We don’t have to do that, honestly I’m just happy making out with you and acting like horny teenagers” I tease

“Yes” he leans his head back and laughs, “Just like horny teenagers”

We make out some more before I admit that I should get home. Chris walks me to my car and we kiss some more before I actually get in and head home.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the whole chapter not posting. I've been really busy with work so I didn't see your comments until today! I think I fixed it finally. As a side note, I'm new to AO3 so I tend to forget to post regularly on here. But I post consistently on my tumblr page, so if you guys have tumblr and are sick of waiting for me on here you can check out that, my username is ilovethings-somuch

The week dragged by, but of course the short time I got to see Chris on Friday went by at superspeed. Lukas’ lesson went well, but Chris had work to do so I headed home right after. I was just settling into my couch with wet hair and a bowl of ice cream when my phone went off.

Chris: Are you ready for tomorrow?

Me: I would be more ready if you would tell me what we were doing.

Chris: It’s a surprise, but I promise you’ll love it.

Me: I hate surprises.

Chris: Everyone says that, but I’ll give you a hint 

Me: Wow how generous of you. 

I roll my eyes but giggle after hitting send.

Chris: It used to be an Orange Grove.

I stare at the text trying to think of what he could mean before it clicks into place and I’m suddenly grateful for a 10 page paper I had to write years ago. I can’t put my excitement into a text message so I call Chris instead.

“Hello” he’s barely through the word before I interrupt him

“Are you taking me to Disneyland?!”

“Oh my god how did you know that?” he laughs into the phone.

“I wrote a paper on Walt Disney, I know a lot about Disneyland. I’m right, right?”

“Yes you’re right”

“I can’t wait!” I squeal, “Lukas is coming then, right?”

“I wasn’t planning on bringing him”

“What! Why not? It’s literally for kids and you’re not going to bring your kid?”

“Well, it was supposed to be a date”

“It can still be a date”

“I’m not sure it works like that”

“Chris, I’m the one you’re taking on a date and I’m telling you that Lukas can come. If you don’t want to bring him that’s up to you. But I won’t be upset or anything if he comes along” It’s silent on the other line for a few beats so I try to lighten the mood “Besides it’s the happiest place on earth, there’s no possible way I could be upset there”

“You do have a point there. I’ll think about it, and since you figured out the original surprise, this can be the surprise”

“Oh whatever” I giggle.

“I’ll pick you up around 7, we have a bit of a drive”

“7am? Dude you could’ve told me that before I decided ice cream was a good idea”

“Ice cream is always a good idea! Never regret eating ice cream”

“Yeah says the man with the body of a god” I say around a mouthful of ice cream.

He bursts out laughing and I can perfectly picture him falling back and grabbing his chest, “I haven’t had the body of a god since the last time I put the Cap suit on” he finally tells me.

“Well that’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard,” I deadpan. “I saw you shirtless less than a week ago, and I can assure you, you still have the body of a god”

“I’m not sure, but thank you for boosting my ego”

“Oh of course, that’s what I’m here for” he laughs again before I continue, “Well since you’re going to be here at 7, I should probably get ready for bed”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow”

“I’ll see you and Lukas tomorrow” I tease.

“We’ll see. Goodnight Elaina”

“Goodnight, Chris” I can’t wipe the smile off my face while I get ready for bed, or even once I’m trying to sleep. My mind is racing with thoughts of the coming day and I’m sure I don’t fall asleep until sometime after midnight.

My alarm goes off, loud and clear, at 6am. Saturday’s are normally my day to sleep in and recharge from the week full of early mornings, so waking up early is a shock to my body. I roll out of bed, literally, and sit on the floor while I look through my clean laundry basket to decide what to wear before heading to the bathroom to shower. I pick a halter top jean dress with a lace pattern on the bottom. I shower quickly, skipping washing my hair because I’m going to wear it up anyways. After I’m dressed I put on some foundation and mascara while praying that I won’t sweat it off. I twist my hair into a high bun and call it good.

I have about 15 minutes before Chris is supposed to be here so I make a bowl of cereal and sit down on the couch to watch the news while I eat. I almost fall asleep in a matter of minutes, coffee is definitely needed today. I’m just filling my travel mug when there’s a knock on my door.

“Good morning!” Chris cheers as soon as I open the door.

“Good morning” I mumble while he kisses my cheek.

“Smile, we’re going to Disneyland!” I try to keep a straight face but can’t help but smile. He cheers for getting me to smile before asking if I have everything I need. I grab my purse and coffee and slip on some flats. “Yes, I’m ready. So, no Lukas?”

“Yes, Lukas” he smiles at me. “He fell asleep on the way over here so he’s in the car”

“Good” I give his hand a squeeze while we make our way down to the parking lot.

Lukas slept for most of the ride, waking up in time to sing along to Disney songs for the last 20 minutes. Chris has a parking pass and has already purchased our tickets so we don’t have to wait in line. As soon as we step through the gates my heart stops, I haven’t been to Disneyland since I was a little kid and the memories don’t do a justice. Chris stops when I do and looks at me with a smirk. My face flushes and I smile, shaking my head, before I keep walking. Lukas ran a couple feet ahead of us and started jumping in place when Chris told him to wait for us.

“Where to first?” Chris asked me when we caught up to Lukas.

“I wanna find Mickey!” Lukas shouts while tugging on Chris’ arm.

“This is Elaina’s trip, we talked about this Lukas” Chris says pointedly.

“We can find Mickey, I don’t even know where to go first. Whatever you guys normally do, I’m down for whatever”

“Are you sure?”

“Chris I haven’t been here since I was like 10, literally just standing here the whole day will make me happy”

“Since you were 10? You’ve been living in California for over a year and you haven’t come to Disneyland yet?” he asks incredulously.

“Struggling actress, remember?” I shrug and smile

“Ah right, well I’ll take you to Disney as many times as you want” I giggle as he gives me a side hug and presses a smacking kiss to my temple.

We eventually find Mickey, after stopping to take pictures with every character we pass along the way. After we’re happy with the characters we’ve met we start going through rides. Chris requests Space Mountain and Lukas requests Autopia. We take a lap through a good portion of the park, stopping to check out different attractions and going on rides that look fun. We eat pretzels and ice cream for lunch. (it’s vacation right?) After lunch we go on the Star Tours before heading to the Mad Tea Party ride. I’m in charge of picking where we eat dinner and so naturally I pick Ariel’s Grotto. Dinner is phenomenal, not to mention the fact that we met Mulan, Ariel, and Jasmine.

Once dinner is over it’s almost dusk so we hurry over to the castle to watch the parade and fireworks. Chris finds us a good spot and sits Lukas on his shoulders so he can see over the crowd. I get so engrossed in watching the parade that I jump when Chris reaches down to hold my hand. He chuckles lightly while rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. Lukas falls asleep during the parade with his arms wrapped under Chris’ chin and his head laying on Chris’. I help Chris untangle himself from Lukas and grab him off of Chris’ shoulders. Chris take Lukas and holds him against his chest; Lukas stirred slightly but quickly buried his face in Chris’ shoulder and went back to sleep.

“He always misses the end of the parade and sleeps until the fireworks are almost over” he half-whispers to me.

“It’s been a long day, and without a nap it makes sense. But I’m surprised the fireworks don’t wake him up at the beginning” Chris just shrugs and smirks his response as he looks towards the castle. The music and the lights start and I can’t help but look around in awe. Chris keeps watching my reaction and I flush, embarrassed by the tears welling up in my eyes.

“Look, they’re starting” he smiles at me while he shifts Lukas so he can hold my hand again. I hold his hand tightly, trying to remember that this isn’t a dream.

“How can he sleep through all this?” I half yell into Chris’ ear. He laughs and shrugs his response. The fireworks last around 15 minutes and I’m just as in awe when they’re over as when they started. I keep looking around, waiting for more. It takes Chris squeezing my hand for me to realize that it’s actually over.

“So the park is open until midnight, so if you want to do something else or even just walk around and look at the lights we can do that” he suggests.

I look at Lukas’ still sleeping form and decide quickly, “We can head out. Lukas would probably rather sleep in his bed and I’m sure you don’t want to carry him for 2 hours”

“Oh, I was going to make you carry him” he smirks.

“Then we definitely need to leave” I joke.

“Are you sure? I can always rent a stroller for him”

“I’m sure, I’m actually pretty tired too, so if we stay until midnight I will most definitely fall asleep on the ride home”

“Oh, no. If you sleep then I sleep” I says in mock seriousness

“Then we better go” I laugh. He eventually agrees and we head back to the parking lot. The ride home feels shorter than the ride there, but maybe that’s because I don’t want the night to end. Chris and I talk about random things the whole ride, like what we ride is our favorite and what our favorite moment was. Of course we both said the fireworks, how can that not be the most magically moment.

“The fireworks are always amazing, but watching you react to them make it ten times better”

All I can do is smile and look out the window for a beat before my brain comes back and I give him a smart ass comment, “Looks like you can’t go to Disneyland without me then, it would just be a disappointment” I meant it as a joke, but Chris thought it over a lot before responding.

“I can live with that. I want to go a lot of places with you, Elaina”

“Really?” the word slipped out before I could stop it.

“Yes, really” he takes my hand in his before continuing. “You said this was more than a fling for you, it’s a lot more than a fling for me too”

“I know, I’m really excited to see where this takes us. I guess I’m just still surprised that you want me, it’s like I’m just waiting to wake up from a dream that I don’t want to end”

“It’s not a dream, and it’s not going to end” he meets my eyes quickly while he talks before looking back at the road.

“You sound very confident” I say with a smile.

“I am,” he says as he brings my hand up to kiss my knuckles. Once the heavy stuff is over we go back to talking about Disney and how we need to go to Disney World so we can go to Animal Kingdom. I claim that Lukas would love the animals but we both know it’s really for me. When we get back to my apartment Chris leaves the car running for Lukas, taking his key fob so that he can lock him in, while he walks me to my door. When we get to my door I turn to face him, he doesn’t waste anytime before pressing his lips to mine and backing me into the door. My hands tangle in his hair while he pulls my hips closer. It’s frantic and sloppy and doesn’t take long for me to need to come up for air. I pull away for a second a run my fingers along his scalp.

“I’ve wanted to do that all day” he breathes.

“Me too” I admit easily and give him another chaste kiss.

“Which is why I was going to leave Lukas with the nanny” he chuckles after his admission.

“I know, but it was still a fun day. Besides, there’s a lot of other kids at Disney so we still probably shouldn’t do this there”

“I suppose you’re right”

“I’m always right” I tease.

“Oh really?” he runs his hands up my sides and I squeal as he tickles me.

“Stop, stop, stop. It’s like 1am I can’t wake up my neighbors”

He stops and kisses me again before speaking, “I’m glad I found that trick” he smirks before kissing my forehead and walking away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I'm considering a sequel, if you guys are interested in that I would love to hear from you!

The following weeks went quickly and without much happening. I continued to give Lukas lessons and Chris continues to invite me to stay for dinner. We went on a few more dates, just the two of us. We went to dinner a couple times, saw a couple movies, and one time we had a late night picnic and stargazed while Chris told me everything he knew about space. Lukas had always been comfortable with me but as time passed it seemed that the dynamic of our relationship was changing just as my relationship with Chris was. Lukas became more clingy; he didn’t want me to leave after lessons, he wanted me to put him to bed, he didn’t want Chris to spend time with me without him. I didn’t have any problems with the changes, but I could tell it was making Chris worried.

“What are you thinking about” I ask while running my fingers through his hair. It’s late on a Friday after lessons, Chris insisted that I could stay to watch a movie with him since I don’t have to work on Saturday.

“Nothing much” he responds hesitantly.

“I don’t believe you”

He sighs before sitting up, I look at him expectantly when he doesn’t speak. “It’s not important”

“I’m really not trying to pressure you into telling me, but if it has to do with me I’d like to know”

“It’s more about Lukas than it is about you”

“But it’s kind of about me? You mean it’s about me and Lukas? Chris I’m really sorry, I’ve been overstepping with helping with Lukas, I know I’m not his parent and it’s not my place” I start rambling, trying to fix everything.

“No, no, no. It’s not that. I mean, it is, but I’m not upset with you. Honestly, I love seeing you act like Lukas’ mom and I love that he likes you so much. I’m just nervous about the future, I guess”

“That seems to be our problem, the future” I agree.

“I just don’t want Lukas getting hurt. I can take care of myself, but I don’t know how I’d fix him”

“I would never do anything to hurt Lukas like that” I turn his head to he’s looking me in the eye.

“I just feel like this all happened so fast”

“It kind of did. But Technically we’ve know each other for like six months. Anyways, it doesn’t matter, if you want to slow down or back off a little or anything just let me know. I don’t want to pressure you into something you’re not ready for”

“No, it’s not like that. I’m definitely ready for this, I’m ready for you”

“You promise?” I hold out my pinky finger in a teasing way.

“Of course” he says while wrapping his pinky with mine and leaning in to kiss his thumb. We press our thumbs together, our faces staying mere inches apart. It doesn’t take more than a second before his lips are on mine and I’m laying under him on the couch. I move my legs so my knees are hooked around his hips as he grinds into me. His hands move under my shirt as he presses kisses down my neck. I start to squirm under his touch as my breath comes in faster. I let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a moan and Chris smirks up at me before kissing me hard. I push my hands under his shirt and up his back, feeling his muscles flex as he moves. I take my time, feeling up his back before moving my hands to his stomach to relish the way his abs contract against my touch. I memorize the shape of him before I make the decision to test my luck and start fumbling with his belt. I pull away from his kiss as I do it and he buries his face in my neck, sighing into my hair before pressing more random kissing where he can reach. I start palming him through his boxers when I hear a squeak from the hallway. I stop immediately and Chris leans back to lock eyes with me before quickly crawling off me while buckling his belt and standing up.

“Lukas?” he asks quietly as he walks around the couch and down the hallway. I recollect myself and try to slow my breathing before I get up to follow Chris down the hallway. “Why are you out of bed?” Chris asks Lukas who is standing in the doorway of his bedroom with his blanket in hand.

“I was gonna go to your bed but you weren’t there” he looks at the floor and his lip shakes as he talks.

“Did you have a nightmare buddy” Chris coos at him before picking him up to hug him. Lukas nods his head and holds tightly onto Chris’ neck. “Do you want to talk about it?” Lukas shakes his head no and tries to sniff away his tears. “Are you sure?” Chris is rubbing his back and turns to me, mouthing ‘sorry’ over his head. I shrug that it’s fine and I’m about to walk back into the living room to give them space when I hear Lukas mumble my name. “What was that, bud?”

“I want Lainie to tuck me in” He says more clearly. Chris furrows his eyebrows and I swear his expression is one full of hurt, but he quickly wipes it away and looks up at me.

“I can” I offer and take a step back towards them. Chris passes Lukas to me without meeting my eye, but I ignore it and take Lukas back to his room.

I lay him in bed and tuck him in, giving him his desired stuffed animals. He asks me to read to him so I pick up the closest book and start from the beginning. He’s out after a few pages so I turn the light off and kiss his forehead before leaving to find Chris. I close Lukas’ door as quietly as I can and turn to walk back to the living room, but I jump as soon as I look up from the door to find Chris leaning against the wall.

“Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack” I whisper. Chris gives me a small smile before saying sorry and following me out of the hallway. “I should probably get going”

“Right, it’s late” I nod slowly after he doesn’t say anything else or make any sort of move.

“Yeah, goodnight Chris” I take a step forward and kiss his cheek. Normally he would use the opportunity to grab my waist and kiss me properly before letting me leave, but he barely even smiles as I pulled away.

It’s a miracle that I make it home with the way my mind is racing. Clearly I messed up somewhere. I don’t know if it was the making out that almost turned into more, or if me putting Lukas to bed did it. It isn’t the first time I’ve put Lukas to bed, and didn’t Chris just say that he liked seeing me act like Lukas’ mom? As soon as I’m home I throw myself face first into my bed and fall asleep.  
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I wake up to the sun shining brightly through the windows that I forgot to close the blinds on. I groan in frustration as I look at the clock, knowing I won’t be able to fall back asleep. I stumble my way to the bathroom and brush my teeth before getting in the shower. I take the time to shave and rub bath salts into my dry skin. When I get out I rub lotion onto my body and put on my robe to lounge around in for the day. I grab my phone from my bed and head to the living room to watch some Netflix.

I catch myself checking my phone every few minutes, obsessively waiting for a text from Chris. Around 9 I give in and send a good morning text to him. My phone doesn’t chime for almost an hour of my looking at it every minute.

Chris: Morning

My heart sinks to my stomach as I read the one word response. Trying my hardest to not make sometime out of nothing i quickly come up with a response.

Me: Are you free tonight?

Chris: depends what you have in mind?

I’m sure it’s supposed to come off as teasing but with the previous tension I read it as though it’s dripping with salt.

Me: Well I still haven’t cooked for you, thought tonight might be a good night. Lukas is welcome as well :)

I add a smiley face for good measure before hitting send and staring at the three little dots as they come and go for what feels like forever.

Chris: Sounds fun. Not sure if I’ll bring Lukas, but I’ll be there. Let me know what time and if I should bring anything.

I breathe a sigh of relief that he didn’t turn me down completely.

Me: 6 and you don’t have to bring anything, just your handsome self.

I don’t expect a response and I don’t get one. I busy myself for the rest of the day by running to the store to get everything I need for dinner and cleaning my apartment until it’s spotless. I start cooking around 4. Chris is right on time and comes alone. He’s quiet at first, unsure of what to do. But when I give him the job of mixing a salad he relaxes and started joking with me.

Dinner goes smoothly, Chris seems to be back to his normal self and I try to relax along side him. I avoid bringing up Lukas, assuming that that’s what upset him the night before.

“That was really good, Lainie” Chris tells me as he finishes his second helping. “I want to eat all of this but I’m so full”

“You can take some home, it’ll take me all week to finish all this”

“Really? I’m sure Lukas would love that”

“Yeah, I’ll get you a container” I get up from the table, praising myself for not telling Chris that he should’ve just brought Lukas with him.

Chris fills a leftover container with what he wants before helping me clear the dishes and start washing everything. He washes and I dry and put things away. We leave the last pot to soak and I ask Chris if he wants to watch a movie. He agrees easily and we cuddle into the couch together.

The movie watching doesn’t last long before it becomes background noise to a makeout session. I’m still nervous about what happened last night so when Chris’ hands tease at the bottom of my shirt I push them gently away. I expect him to stop at that point, but he just uses his hand to cup my cheek instead. As the end credits roll, the making out has turned into occasional kisses between constant caresses. I keep searching his eyes for some kind of hint as to what he’s thinking but nothing seems out of the ordinary.

“I don’t really want to go” he whispers and hugs me closer to him.

“You don’t have to,” I offer. “Unless you have to get home for Lukas”

“I told the nanny it might be an all nighter” he admits.

“Really?”

“Maybe it was wishful thinking” he backtracks quickly and loosens his hold on me. 

I turn his face to look at him and give him a quick kiss, “It wasn’t just wishful thinking”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause you kind of pushed my hand away before”

“I know, I was just,” I stop myself before restarting. “I was just nervous”

“You weren’t nervous last night” he tries at teasing but the mention of last night makes my smile falter.

“Chris, about last night. What happened, exactly? I mean, after Lukas woke up, you seemed mad at me but I don’t know what I did”

“No, you didn’t do anything” he assures me while running his fingers through my hair.

“I’m not sure I believe that. I mean, you went from almost having sex with me to not even kissing me goodnight in a matter of minutes” the words fall from my mouth faster and faster.

“I guess I did, didn’t I? I’m really sorry Elaina. I guess it’s just hard not being the person Lukas wants after a nightmare. I’ve always been that person” his eyes tear up as he talks, but he continues. “I want this to work. I know Lukas needs a mom and he loves you, and I love you, I just need to get over my ego and realize how amazing it is that we found you”

“You love me?”

“Of course I love you, Elaina” his eyes search mine as he talks.

“I love you too, Chris” he smiles at me and gives me a chaste kiss.

“You can stay tonight if you want to. And I’m glad that I know what happened last night, but we really need to work through all this together, you can’t keep shutting me out”

“I know, I know. I don’t want to shut you out. Do you want to know what Lukas asked me when I tucked him in the first time last night?” I nod before he continues. “He asked me when he could start calling you Mommy”

“He what?” my eyes grow wide and I can’t tell if I’m feeling joy or panic.

“Calm down, I told him that that’s up to you and it might not be any time soon”

“But you he wants to call me Mommy?”

“He wants you to be his Mommy. He’s been telling me that since before we even starting dating”

“Smart kid” I mumble and Chris bursts out laughing.

“He is a smart kid” It’s quiet for a while and I snuggle closer into Chris’ chest, tucking my head under his chin. “So I can stay?” I mumble a yes and he continues. “Then can we move this party to the bed. This couch is not big enough for us”

“It’s been working just fine, thank you very much”

“Maybe for you, you’ve been laying on me instead of the couch”

“That’s true” I admit before climbing off him and helping him up. I make my way to the bathroom and brush my teeth, giving Chris an extra toothbrush I have. While he brushes his teeth I go back to my bedroom and change into my pajamas. Chris comes back in shortly after and waits for me to pick a side before he pulls off his jeans and shirt and climbs in next to me. He opens his arms for me to snuggle into him and I swear I fall asleep as soon as his arms closed around me.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you guys all seemed very excited about the sequel which is very exciting for me! I'm going to start working on it now but I'm not sure when I'll start posting it as I've been really busy with work. Also a bit of a warning: this chapter is kind of different from the rest, I was trying to tie up all the loose ends and prepare for the sequel.

My relationship with Chris got stronger over time. He started getting excited when Lukas asked me to do things instead of asking him. We were together for close to a year when, after a lot of discussion (and refusal on my part), I moved in with Chris and Lukas. I was worried about changing their home dynamic but since I had been spending most nights there anyways my argument wasn’t very strong.

The first time Lukas called me mom we were making breakfast in bed for Chris. Chris was sleeping and I snuck out of bed to wake Lukas so we could surprise him. I was helping Lukas spread butter on a piece of toast and he said “Thank you Mommy” in the most casual way, before going over to arrange food on a tray. I must have stared after him for longer than I thought because after a few moments he came back to hug my legs and apologize. I wasn’t sure what to do. I was so excited that he said it, but also worried about what Chris would think. I explained to Lukas that we were going to have to talk to his dad about calling me Mommy.

We waited until after Chris ate his breakfast and got out of bed. He was helping me clean up the kitchen and Lukas was playing in the living room.

“So, he called me Mommy this morning” I told him cautiously.

“He, what? Wait, really?” he sounded so surprised at first but it quickly turned into excitement.

“Yeah, we were making toast and he just said ‘thank you Mommy’ I told him that we would have to talk about it and decide if he could keep calling me that”

“Well, I don’t have a problem with it if that’s what you’re asking” He hugged me to his chest as he spoke.

I hugged him back, tightly, before leaning back to look at him. “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t mind it, I actually really like it. But I don’t want anything to happen between us because of this”

“I’m completely sure. You’ve been acting like his mom since day 1, it’s not a surprise that he finally said it to you. Hell, he said it to me before you and I were even together”

“He did?”

“He told me that he wanted you to be his new Mommy. I said ‘we’ll see’ but I knew before he even said that, that I wanted there to be an us” he pulls me close again and kisses my forehead.

“Looks like Lukas is our own little cupid” I quip

“Something like that” he agrees with a smile.  
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A couple weeks after our one year anniversary Chris proposed. It wasn’t anything extravagant, but there was a lot of thought put into it. He took me out to dinner to a nice restaurant and we went for a walk along the beach before returning home. When we got there Lukas was still up and the nanny made a quick exit. I was about to question Lukas, but the lights dimming and music playing distracted me. I heard Lukas squeal and I glanced at him again before turning around and finding Chris on one knee.

“Elaina Arya Johar, I have been wanting to do this since our first date. Since our first kiss. Since the first I love yous. Since you moved in. Since the first time Lukas called you mom and everyday in between. You make me the happiest person alive and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We want to spend the rest of our lives with you. Will you marry me?” I think I started crying the moment he said my name, I nodded and squeaked out a yes. Chris was up and hugging me in an instant. He cupped my cheeks and kissed me gently. Lukas squeezed in between us, laughing and jumping. Chris pulled away slightly to push the ring on my finger. I admired it for a moment before throwing my arms around him and kissing him hard.  
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We had a quiet wedding in Boston about 9 months later with only our closest family and friends. My family met Chris and his family and I met Chris’ family during the holidays the year before and everyone got along wonderfully. Though my dad and brother were a little starstruck at first. We were lucky enough to keep our relationship and, more importantly, the wedding away from the press and no one in Hollywood was suspecting a thing. Lukas stayed with Lisa for two weeks and Chris and I went on a honeymoon. We went to a resort on a small island in the Caribbean where we mostly saw the inside of our hotel room.  
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After the wedding our lives changed little by little. We bought a house near Boston so that we could be closer to home when we weren’t working. I stopped working at the pool and Chris talked me into doing auditions again. Lukas started school in the fall and loved every second of it. Chris still worried he wouldn’t be able to make friends or that he’d get bullied, but with Lukas’ attitude all the kids loved him. We talked about having more kids but it wasn’t seen as something that had to happen immediately, it was more just a ‘if it happens then it happens’ plan. Chris became more serious about directing which meant he was working more. He tried to get most of his projects to film in California but it wasn’t always possible. Lukas and I did fine on our own, but it was always better when our little family was all together.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It happened close to our wedding anniversary. I was a week late. I got a test on the way home from an audition and took it the moment I got home. I locked myself in the bathroom so Lukas wouldn’t ask question and waited for the test to work. Two little lines showed up in the window. Pregnant. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry so I think I did both. I pulled myself together quickly so that I could let the nanny leave and watch Lukas. I put the test in my dresser for safe keeping before going back out. The nanny, Andi, left after talking to me for a bit and Chris was expected home for dinner. I made spaghetti for dinner and couldn’t help but think back to the first time Chris asked me to stay for dinner.

“Lukas” Chris calls in a sing song voice as he walked through the door. Lukas bolts from the kitchen to meet him and I laugh at his enthusiasm. Chris comes into the kitchen with Lukas in his arms. He places a kiss on my cheek as he walks past me to set Lukas back on his stool before he circles back quickly to wraps his arms around my waist.

“Hey there, handsome” I tease while turning my head in search of a kiss.

“Hey there, beautiful” he whispers against my lips before pressing fully against me. Lukas makes a squeaking sound and I can perfect imagine him hiding his face in his arms. Chris chuckles as he breaks the kiss and the embrace to start setting the table.

We all talk about our day over dinner. Lukas tells us how there’s Show And Tell at school tomorrow and he wants to take Dodger. Chris gently tells Lukas “no” before changing the subject and telling us about how he finally found the perfect male lead for his current project and if only I would agree to be the female lead they would be set. I remind him that I won’t work for him and continue by telling him that I got a callback today. It seems we’ve all had good days so far, but I can’t wait until Lukas goes to bed so I can make Chris’ day even better.

Lukas takes his time picking the perfect toy to bring for Show And Tell after his bath so that he can stall going to sleep. Chris and I tuck him in together, lying on either side of him as Chris reads. Once Lukas is fully asleep we gently slip from the bed and make our way to our own room.

“I can’t believe you got a call back today, babe, that’s so exciting” he comments again as we get settled in bed.

“It is, I’m just worried about how much of a time commitment it is. I’m getting into this whole Mom thing and I don’t want to be gone all the time”

“I know how you feel. I hate being away from him so much”

“I don’t know about this role either. It’s an action movie and I might be past my prime” I shrug

“Past your prime? Are you kidding? You’d do great in an action movie”

“It’s just a call back, let’s not get too excited. Besides, once they find out I’m pregnant they probably won’t want me” I try to say it as casual as possible but can’t help the smile the peaks out as I look up at him. His face goes from happy to confused and back again in a matter of seconds.

“Pregnant?” He breathes the word

“Pregnant” I confirm as happy tears trail down my cheeks. He pulls me against him and starts pressing kissing all over my face as I giggle against him. He leans back to move down to my still flat stomach and presses kisses in a spiral around my belly button. I squirm under him and he eventually makes his way back up to kiss my lips. I keep my hand on the back of his neck to hold him in place while his hands roam my body.

“Wait, we can right?” he pulls back enough to speak.

“Yes” I laugh before pulling him back and hook my knees over his hips.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“I know we’re already a family, but I can’t wait to keep growing with you” I muse as I run my fingers along his chest.

“I love you so much” he reminds me once again while kissing the top of my head.

“I love you too, Chris, I’ll love you forever”


End file.
